At the Rio games Team GB came within a few hits of a fencing medal. Instead of recognising and building upon that development, UK Sport have turned their back on us. We firmly believe that is in the best interest of not only our athletes and the wider Team GB, but of the sport at every level from elite to grassroots, that we are able to support our fencers on the road to Tokyo and beyond. We also believe this is vital if we want to promote sports and physical and mental health in the UK beyond those who settle for more popular pastimes.

Whilst we feel that it is scandalous that hard working sportsmen and women are having to rely on crowdfunding in order to pursue this aim, we also believe that fencers know what it means to step up to the mark and deliver, doing what needs to be done.

For all of these reasons, the committee of Dingwall Fencing Club have agreed that we should support this campaign and the club has pledged £100 towards it.

If you feel that you would like to help, you can find the crowdfunder page here.